Despite the many, many beautiful, even artistic, lungo cups I’ve posted on this site over the years, nothing beats a thoughtful, handmade ceramic piece of art, insulating a warm cup of coffee. This is my favorite way to drink coffee, and my favorite lungo mug is shown here, at left.

And I’m sorry, but it’s not for sale.

This is one of many handmade cups I’ve purchased from Northwest Missouri State University’s semi-annual art and pottery sale. It’s a wonderful event, a chance to peruse dozens of potential lungo cups, picking each up, inspecting the grip, studying the design, and measuring the height to ensure it will fit under my Essenza spout. (I can usually eyeball this now, but to be sure, I take out a bill of any denomination and fold it in half. Each bill is six inches, and to fit under the spout, it has to clear 3 1/4″.)

I usually don’t post my handmade mugs here because, well, these are one-of-a-kind mugs and not directly for sale on Amazon. But last month, when I purchased this new addition to my collection, I couldn’t keep Veronica Watkin’s work to myself any more. I realized that I’ve collected a number of her pieces, and they just keep getting better and better.

If you look through her work, you’ll see a beautiful collection of bowls and trays that seem to have sprouted from a sunset over the Badlands. The colors and shapes are soothing and pleasing, almost putting me in a trance.

Veronica teaches ceramics — among many other art courses — at Northwest. She has been inspiring students to develop their curiosity and style since 2002. Imagine how many artists are making coffee cups like this today, thanks to Veronica’s gentle guidance!

I only found these cups after site visitors turned me on to them. I have to admit, they look very cool, especially in this red color. (They’re also available in teal, black and all silver, which also looks nifty!)

The espresso cups have a 2-ounce capacity. They’ll hold a single shot, and even a traditional Macchiato, with a dollop of thick foam.

The lungo cups have a 3.25-ounce capacity, which makes them work for a Nespresso lungo if you like your lungos on the small side. This cup also works for a double shot, or a small cappuccino. Its height is 2 3/8 inches, so it will fit under an Essenza spout.

If you’re concerned about a hot cup burning your lip or causing condensation rings on your tables, these cups have a double-wall construction to keep the heat away from the outside layer, so you won’t burn your hands.

Speaking of hands, if you’re a man with large fingers, you can probably successfully use this cup, at least up to your second knuckle.

Be sure to hand wash — washing in a dishwasher may cause the coating to chip or peel. That said, the seller, Blockwell, seems very responsive to any issues you might have with these.

In the U.S., we take our coffees to go. It’s not that the Scandinavians and Europeans are wrong to only drink coffee in a mug, sitting in a relaxed setting. That’s a good way to enjoy a Nespresso, for sure. But, sometimes we just need that lungo to go!

For those times, here’s the perfect disposable paper cup, neatly embellished with the Nespresso logo.

This cup is really similar to the Bodum double-walled glass coffee cup — but this is made by Teaology. I don’t know much about this cup, but some Nespresso lovers have used it, but not yet reviewed it.

It is 3 inches tall, just like the Bodum, so it will fit under the Nespresso Essenza spout — no hands required! These double-walled, glass cups are really beautiful for showing off the rich Nespresso coffee — and you’ll love watching the coffee being dispensed into this cup– what a show!

This cup holds 4 ounces, so it’s a good lungo size, especially if you tend to use Nespresso’s factory setting, which is 3.75 ounces.

Thanks to a recent LungoCups.com visitor for spotting these super-handy lungo cups! They fit 5 ounces if you fill to the very top, so, there’s plenty of room for Nespresso’s factory setting of 3.75 ounce lungo. This cup set gets a lot of rave reviews at Amazon: 4.5 stars out of 5 at the time of this post, with more than 200 customer reviews.

Customers are using this cup for lungos and cappuccinos, mostly. They like the low profile that fits under a low spout, like the Nespresso Essenza.

These are Porcelain, with four to a set. You can see by the image that they come with a stackable stand and saucers. In white only.

This is the glass you see in all of the Nespresso images… it makes for a beautiful lungo, doesn’t it? Looks especially tempting as the last drop of coffee bounces into the cup — or when George Clooney is holding it!

This cup is a little difficult to find online. That’s because it’s a little buried at Nespresso.com’s US site. You have to log in to the Nespresso Club area first, then navigate through to the “Accessories.”

If you’re visiting from the U.K., this is probably sold out there, so try ordering from the U.S. site through links here.